


Take My Breath Away, You Know I'm Bound to Choke

by theghostofenj



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Langst, M/M, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Hatred, also the ship is like implied, set just after season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 12:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12557484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theghostofenj/pseuds/theghostofenj
Summary: Lance has a breakdown after the final battle and Red knows just how to help.*excerpt*Lance didn’t notice the tears streaming down his face until his throat caught on his words. He sobbed, covering his mouth to muffle the sounds.Red stayed quiet, silently unlocking her doors, unbeknownst to Lance.





	Take My Breath Away, You Know I'm Bound to Choke

**Author's Note:**

> yes ok, i know i should be working on my les mis fic, but hey, i was going through the langst tag on tumblr and wrote this

Lance parked Red in her docking station and leaned back in his seat. He knew he should be running to check on Keith, or maybe make sure Lotor is contained properly, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. His thoughts were racing, and now would be the only time he could contain them before he broke down. The last thing he wanted was to cry in front of the team. 

Lance curled his legs up to his chest, letting out a shaky breath. Slowly, tears fell from his eyes. Lance quickly wiped them away, refusing to cry. Red let out a concerned purr, making him laugh softly. 

“Don’t worry about me Red, your paladin will be back soon.”

_Now, you are my paladin. Red said inside his mind._

Lance laughed, shaking his head. “Red, I’m no one’s paladin.” _You’re a paladin of Voltron. You’re the universe’s paladin,_ Red countered, her voice echoing all around Lance.

“The universe doesn’t deserve me. It needs better. It needs Keith back. He’s perfect to pilot you, and I can already tell Allura pilots Blue better than I could.” Lance sighed, resting his head in his hands. “I shouldn’t even go back to Earth. I should just… go. I don’t know where, maybe some isolated planet, where I can’t bother anyone.”

Red stayed silent, but locked the doors and shut off her outside power. Lance cringed, fearing he had pushed her away too. 

_Paladin_ , Red said, calm and soothing. _You underestimate yourself too much. I wouldn’t have let you pilot me if I didn’t see greatness inside of you. Now tell me, why do you think like this? ___

__Lance thought for a second, not sure of where to start. He opened his mouth, sighing, and began._ _

__“I guess it’s the team. I’m not as valuable as them. No one is smarter than Pidge, losing their brain would be suicide for the team. Hunk is so kind and keeps up our moral. He can cook and make it feel like home. Shiro, where to even start with him? He’s always been my hero, and I think you can see why. We’re nothing without him. Keith, oh do I even need to tell you about him? You already know his strength and willingness to push this team forward. Allura and Coran, this is their war. Even people like the Blade of Marmora and Matt… they can take my place._ _

__They don’t need me, and I don’t even think they want me. I’m just a punchline to them, they’ve made that clear. To them, I’m some stupid flirt who’s incapable of doing anything. Sharpshooter? Yeah right! They don’t see me as anything but a burden.”_ _

__Lance didn’t notice the tears streaming down his face until his throat caught on his words. He sobbed, covering his mouth to muffle the sounds._ _

__Red stayed quiet, silently unlocking her doors, unbeknownst to Lance. She called out for Keith, trying to bring him to her._ _

__Down the hall, Keith stood from his room, sprinting to Red. Once he made it to her landing dock, he stopped, trying to catch his breath, looking up at the lion._ _

__“What’s going on?” he asked, breath still heavy._ _

___I need you to come up to the control seat, be quiet while entering._ _ _

__Keith looked up at her, confused, but followed her instructions. As soon as he stepped in, he heard it. The loud sobbing coming from the cockpit. He quickly made his way up, feeling his heart shatter as he saw a broken and sobbing Lance curled up in his seat._ _

__“Lance…” he muttered, grabbing the formerly-blue paladin’s attention._ _

__“K-keith,” Lance said, aggressively wiping away his tears. “Glad to see you back,” Lance threw on a fake smile, but Keith saw right through it._ _

__“Lance, what’s wrong?” Keith asked, stepping forward. Lance shuffled back, trying to find a way out._ _

__“Nothing’s wrong buddy, just exhausted from the mission. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Lance walked forward, trying to push past Keith. Keith held up his hand, holding Lance in place._ _

__“Red called me. You’ve been crying. You’re not ok and either you tell me why, or Red will tell me.” Keith said his words as a non-negotiable statement, but looked at Lance with kindness._ _

__“Why should I tell you if you’ll find out anyway?” Lance whispered, defeat in his tone. His body had slumped while he spoke, his normal posture that kept his head held high was now one of weakness, like his body was trying to crawl into itself._ _

__Keith sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Images flashed through his eyes of Lance yelling and crying, harsh words slipping out that hurt no one but himself. Keith looked back at Lance, unable to speak._ _

__“You… you idiot!” Keith yelled, his voice shaking. “Don’t you dare say that. Don’t you ever think that about yourself again. I leave you alone for a few weeks and this happens? No, no you don’t get to say that.” Keith’s words held notes of anger and sadness all mixed together._ _

__“I’m the loner here. I left. The team needs you and I swear if you feel otherwise, you’re lying to yourself. You don’t… you don’t know how many times I wanted to come back. I was lonely and I couldn’t joke with anyone. I lost my spirit without someone to compete with. You’re important in ways you don’t even know. We can’t… I can’t lose you.”_ _

__Keith’s words spilled out of his mouth like the tears slipping from his eyes. He looked at Lance, trying to convey the words he couldn’t say._ _

__“You’re telling me to stop lying when you yourself are making false claims.” Lance pushed on the arm holding him back, trying once more to leave. Keith growled, pulling Lance back and pushing him against the wall._ _

__“I am not lying,” he hissed._ _

__Keith lessened his grip against Lance, pulling the boy into his arms. Lance buried his face in Keith’s shoulder, the fabric of Keith’s shirt muffling his cries. Keith ran his hands along Lance’s back in a calming motion. Lance sighed and looked back at Keith._ _

__“What are we going to do?” he whispered. “With Lotor, with the Galra Empire, with… everything?”_ _

__Keith cupped Lance’s face and smiled sadly. “I don’t know, but you’re gonna be there to help us decide.”_ _

__Lance leaned back into Keith, burying his face into him once more, and knew that every word was true._ _

**Author's Note:**

> gotta comfort my boy lance cause he needs it


End file.
